The Authority Company

How does a former corporate lawyer build one of New York City's top gluten-free bakeries and get their goods into Whole Foods? You sign up for a baking class. That's what Helene Godin did after walking away from a highly successful 22-year legal career. On this episode, Helene talks to Joe about her career transition, how she pivoted during the pandemic, and the importance of never giving up.

When you were growing up, the phrase wealth management was akin to a craniotomy. You knew that it was something that was done, but you didn’t actually know how people did it. When it comes to wealth management or a craniotomy, you’re best off working with an expert. This week Joe is joined by an expert on the former, not the latter, his name is Zachary Garber, and he's a Vice President and Client Advisor at Alex Brown, a division of Raymond James. Zach specializes in custom portfolios that overlay alternative investments, including private equity, hedge funds, and real estate solutions.

Hollywood has made excellent films about female entrepreneurs, such as Rom-Coms like Bridesmaids and Sweet Home Alabama. But it's only a matter of time before a movie is made about Joe's guest this week, Stephanie Blackwell, the founder and President of Aurora Products, a supplier of natural and organic nut and dried fruit snack packs. Stephanie shares how she built Aurora Products from scratch and all the twists and turns her Hollywood-like entrepreneurial journey has taken.

When it comes to building a successful business, Walt Disney said it best, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” In the early 2000's, Fred Mwangaguhunga was a corporate attorney with entrepreneurial aspirations. Fred's idea was to create an entertainment and celebrity news site focused on African Americans topics and celebrities. And since its founding in 2006, MediaTakeOut has grown to an audience of over 35 million monthly visitors. Fred talks about how he built his media empire, how MediaTakeOut has evolved since it's early days, and his passion for helping African American entrepreneurs succeed.

This week, Joe welcomes Tim Pagliara to the ForbesBooks podcast. Tim is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of CapWealth in Franklin, Tennessee. Tim formed CapWealth in early 2000 after nearly 20 years of experience in the financial industry.  His firm is one of the nation’s leading independent wealth managers with $1 billion in assets under advisement.  For years Tim has watched the decade-long fight over the government's role in regulating a safe and sound mortgage market and was inspired to write the book Another Big Lie, How the Government Stole Billions From The American Dream Of Home Ownership. And Got Caught!

They say it's never too late to make a change in your life. Jeff Bezos worked in computer science before launching Amazon at age 31. Julia Child didn’t write her first cookbook until she was 50. And Ray Kroc was a milkshake-device salesman before buying McDonald's and building a fast food empire at the age of 52. Joe's guest this week is Dr. Afa Pitts who went from being a doctor overseas to founding a real estate investment company in the U.S. Afa shares her incredible true story, why she founded American Property Investments and how she hopes to change the future of real estate investing.

COVID-19 has pushed organizations in every industry to embrace new, digital solutions. Unfortunately, businesses that fail to transform will likely be left behind and risk losing their place in the market.  This week, Joe welcomes Sri Manchala, the author of Crossing the Digital Fault Line, and the Chairman & CEO of Trianz, a global digital transformation consulting and technology services firm. Sri shares his inspiration for writing the book, how he defines digital transformation, and the steps that are needed to be taken to become a methodical innovator.

For many people, the word Monday creates a visceral reaction, just the mere mention of Monday can stir up all sorts of negative emotions. But Joe's guest this week has made it his mission in life to help the men and women in the corner office make sure that Monday Morning doesn’t suck for their employees. His name is Eric Harkins, and he’s the President and Founder of GKG Search & Consulting, a Minneapolis-based consulting firm that helps organizations get talent, keep talent and grow talent. He’s also the author of the fantastic book, Great Leaders Make Sure Monday Morning Doesn't Suck.

As companies across the country embrace a work-from-home life in a post COVID world, many business leaders struggle with the question of “How do I maintain company culture remotely.” Joining Joe this week is David Friedman, the Founder and CEO of High Performing Culture, where he helps companies and organizations build high-performing company cultures. He’s also the author of Fundamentally Different: Building a Culture of Success Through Organizational Values and Culture by Design, the definitive “how-to” manual for building a high-performance culture.

What do Shark Tank, Tik Tok, and sports bras have in common? The answer is SHEFIT. This week Joe chats with the company's founder Sara Moylan, the creator of the SHEFIT ULTIMATE Sports Bra. Sara talks about the inspiration for becoming an entrepreneur, how she ended up on Shark Tank, and why SHEFIT took over TikTok.